Left in Ashes
by Nanomemes
Summary: [DAVID TAI FIC] Elisabeth mourns a man who never existed. [COMPLETE]
1. Emissary

_ANOTHER DAVID TAI FIC!_

This man really knows how to characterize the ladies. You know how all my stuff is sausage fest? well with David's help we can have less of that.

_all rise!_

* * *

Elisabeth Blanctorche hated to sleep. While she could go for days without sleeping and still function, sooner or later even she had to succumb to sleep.

She hated it because for her to sleep meant to dream. And she always dreamed.

She dreamed of her youth, of her playing in the well-maintained lawn of a mansion, with a young blonde boy who wore a perpetual half-sneer that she never minded.

She dreamed of sachertorte, of the too-sweet taste that she forced herself to eat, mostly to keep it out of the hand of a mischievious boy who would just as soon finish it for her. Which she would not allow, because, after all, she was the elder and she needed to set a proper example for the boy.

She dreamed of riding on horseback right next to the boy.

She knew the name of her dream boy.

His name was Ash Crimson.

Every time she slept, he was there. And he was so close, so easy to reach out and touch and ruffle his hair, and tease in her elder sister way...

And then she started awake, and he was gone.

"Merde," Elisabeth muttered under her voice, as she had every time she woke up for the last few months.

Elisabeth Blanctorche hated to dream, because she'd never met him. She'd never known him.

Ash Crimson did not exist.

* * *

"Good morning, mademoiselle. I trust you slept well?" the butler, Jacques, asked at the breakfast table, bringing her a tray of a flute glass of champagne and oeufs cocettes au saumon.

"I slept," Elisabeth said brusquely.

"I see."

Elisabeth shot the butler a look. She knew full well that Jacques was only too polite to recommend that she see her psychiatrist.

It wasn't going to help. Her delusion was too specific, of a man who did not exist, no matter how much she sought through the historical records.

And if -she- couldn't find him, and none of the detectives she'd hired could find him, then she didn't think a psychiatrist would help. She'd simply have to accept that he wasn't real, and that her dreams were just that, dreams.

However she could make them end, she would. If she'd simply stop dreaming, it would be simple. She could go days without sleep, after all. But sooner or later, even she had to sleep.

It only delayed keeping Ash Crimson from her mind.

It wasn't until she realized that she'd run the runny yolk through the smoked salmon for the umpteenth time without actually taking a bite that Elisabeth pushed the plate away, and took a sip of her champagne.

"I'm sorry, miss..."

"Don't be," Elisabeth responded, rising to her feet. "Saddle up one of the horses. I wish to ride today."

* * *

Dressed in her equestrian outfit, Elisabeth set her horse down the well-worn path that took her past her guest house, and towards the remains of ancestral mansion. It'd burned down at some point, after some... incident that she couldn't remember, and for whatever reason, after each dream, she felt the need to ride past it, as if to affirm to herself that it had really existed. It was the site where many of her dreams took place, she knew, even if it was growing hazier and hazier as day by day passed. The only time the mansion ever felt -real- was when she dreamed.

She'd left the mansion as it was over the years. The recent months of dreams, though, had her thinking that perhaps, it was time to let go of the past, and to build over anew.

So when she rode up to the mansion, she was prepared to say goodbye.

She was, however, not prepared for a trespasser.

"Hello," the blond man with the over-long high-rise hair greeted. "My name is Benimaru Nikaido, and I..."

He was cut off by a bright white light, suddenly trapping him in place, as Elisabeth invoked her powers.

"How -did- you get past the security system? There's an electric fence!" Elisabeth responded coldly.

Benimaru held his hands up. "Whoa, whoa! Don't you know me?! I'm Benimaru Nikaido. You might have heard of my father. He's the head of Nikaido Conglomerate."

He waited, but Elisabeth merely stared at him without a hint of recognition at the name. Benimaru squinted then huffed and resumed. "_And _I'm not trying to do anything to you or your absolute mess of a mansion. I came here because I'm looking for Sylvie Paula Paula. You can't possibly miss her, she's got this dreadful eyeball shtick going on… surely you've seen her."

"There hasn't been an intruder here for months, save you," Elisabeth said, as she pulled out her cell phone, and began to dial the police. Benimaru watched her with his hands on his hips. He didn't look the least bit scared that she was dialing the authorities and simply rolled his eyes and continued.

"Last time I saw Sylvie, she said she was looking for Ash Crimson. You know him, right? Hurry up and tell me. It's half an hour before afternoon tea and I have a reservation at the one of the Michelin five-stars around here."

Elisabeth froze. She cut off the call at once, turning back to Benimaru. "How do you know that name?"

"I just told you, didn't I?" Benimaru huffed. He pulled a comb out of his too-tight leather pants and began running it through his hair in the vainest way possible. "Sylvie Paula Paula has got voices in her head telling her things. One of them was Ash Crimson. Something about Those From the Past, and about how you were trying to convince him to just come home. And about some conspiracy or the other. I'm just here trying to retrieve her."

Elisabeth looked at Benimaru haughtily. "Let's assume that Ash Crimson is -real-... which it doesn't, because there's no records of him. Why should I believe you?"

Benimaru tucked his comb back into his pants and matched her haughtiness with a flamboyant shrug and hand gesture. He wasn't showing her the proper respect for her station, and it was causing her to become irritated.

"I see" Elisabeth's voice turned icy. "Tell me why I shouldn't immolate you right now for trespassing?"

The threat seemed to have no effect on the electric man. He took his comb out again and was twirling it so infuriatingly Elizabeth wanted to snatch it from him and break it in half.

"Because -you- know..." He pointed the comb at her, "that there's no records of him! And that means you're trying to find him too. Too bad he doesn't exist, except, apparently, in Sylvie Paula Paula's mind... and yours."

"That's... you're babbling nonsense."

He puffed and stuffed the comb into his pants.

"Lady, you have no idea -how- much I've been through because of this nonsense. Chizuru Kagura apparently thinks it's not nonsense, though, because she's had me chasing Sylvie across the globe. Do you think _I_ want to be here talking to _you_?"

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes and curled her lip at the insult. If what Benimaru was saying didn't feel so _right_, she would have whipped him with her light powers ages ago.

"I caught up with her a few times, then she kept disappearing because she gets sidetracked. I don't quite know how she does it… but back to the topic! Have you seen an eyeball girl anywhere?"

Elizabeth ignored his question.

"Chizuru Kagura thinks Ash Crimson is real? That's the Japanese woman who's a CEO, is it?"

Benimaru made a face.

"You know -_her_\- but not Nikai-" Benimaru puffed and rolled his eyes as Elisabeth made an elaborate gesture of studying her gloved fingernails. "Well I suppose ignorance can't be helped… but yes. She does. And you don't want to run afoul her either! Even if she looks like a prim and proper woman. On second thought, maybe you two should meet. You'd be like peas in a pod."

She ignored the pathetically weak jibe. "Why would -Chizuru Kagura- care about an imaginary person?"

"I don't know, but guessing it's some sort of spiritual magic hoodoo. If Chizuru think's it's important, than it definitely is," he nodded sagely.

Elisabeth sneered. "And I'm supposed to take your word for it, you-"

He interrupted her before she could scorch him with an insult.

"If the word of a Nikaido isn't good enough… then nothing is," Benimaru sniffed haughtily. "All I know is that Sylvie mentioned the Blanctorche mansion where Ash and his..." He made quotation marks with his fingers. "_Sister_ played."

"You..." Elisabeth's voice trailed off.

Nothing about his words recalled -anything- to mind, and yet somehow it felt... right.

Elisabeth made a dismissive gesture with her hand. The binding light constraining Benimaru disappeared.

"Chizuru Kagura, hmmm...?" Elisabeth mused. "And she might know something...?"

Benimaru's haughty atmosphere disappeared immediately. He suddenly looked sheepish.

"Uh... Do me a favour and forget I said anything about her. I'm just here to find Sylvie…" He pondered a moment then turned to her again. This time with a command. Elisabeth was _this_ close to throwing him out of the estate by the hair.

"Listen, forget all this, just go on with your pretty little life. Stay out of this nonsense."

"Leave," Elisabeth said brusquely. "I am not taking orders from a peasant."

"What! I'll have you know my father is- _hey!_"

Elisabeth turned on her heel, and marched back to her horse. As she swung up and settled in the saddle, Elisabeth gave Benimaru a cold look. He had pursed his lips in a bratty gesture and crossed his arms haughtily across his chest.

"Fine, fine, I'm leaving. I didn't want to be here anyways."

She said nothing, merely following Benimaru until he left through the front gates. There was a limousine waiting for him there. He climbed in and drove off without so much as a second glance.

Hmph. She -wasn't- going to get caught up in this insanity, but she certainly wasn't taking an order. She had no idea what she would do.

Perhaps contacting this Chizuru Kagura would give her something to go on.

* * *

_Comment who you think Outsnarked. Benny or Betty._

_tbh, betty is less vile lol. i just wanna slap Benny_

_Betty should have thrown him across the treeline by the hair lol_


	2. Rememberance

_Sylvie Paula Paula is probably the best character whenever she shows up. _

_She's a glorious little eyeball girl with plot-hacks powers. :) _

_Guys, all of this is Canon to MOS universe. Not even kidding. _

* * *

"What do you mean, you can't put me through to Chizuru Kagura?" Elisabeth growled.

"It's very late there, mademoiselle," Jacques responded, unperturbed by his young mistress's tone. "Her office is closed."

Elisabeth sighed. She wasn't going to sleep tonight, so the wait would be nearly unbearable.

Perhaps if she took another ride...

"I'll be in the stable, Jacques," Elisabeth said.

There was a strange glow in the stable, lurking around in what was normally the darkest corner. Elisabeth frowned, lighting up her own hand in response. What she found there was a girl, dressed in a loud eye-motif dress with one eyeball hairpins sticking out of her hair, rummaging through the horses' hay, leaving a pile of scattered blades of dried grass in her wake. The source of the strange glow... was a light bulb in her mouth.

"What are you doing there?" Elisabeth frowned.

"Mmmph mmphhh" the girl greeted, before Elisabeth motioned for her to remove the bulb from her mouth, pointing afterwards at the light from her hand to indicate that -she- would be providing the light.

"Oh hi, Betty!" the girl greeted her, the bulb removed from her mouth. "Don't mind me. I'm trying to find the hairpin I dropped in… ah, here we go!" She held up an eyeball hairpin, before sticking it in place.

Elisabeth grimaced. "Sylvie Paula Paula, I presume."

"Oh wow, you -are- a mind-reader too, aren't you?" Sylvie asked, her eyes growing as wide as saucers.

"Let's just say I've been warned that you were coming."

"Oh, brushroom? Funny, I was talking to him, and then I was looking at this thing, and suddenly he was gone." Sylvie pondered this, a finger at her lips.

Elisabeth only shook her head. "Before I ask you to leave, let me ask… how did you get past the electric fence?"

"... oh, the yummy fence? I got a shock and a bzzt! And then I was full of energy!" Sylvie beamed, bringing up a finger that crackled with electricity.

"... I have -got- to change security systems," Elisabeth sighed. "Fine, then. What tales have you for me today?"

"Oh, I'm not here to tell stories," Sylvie said. "I took the scenic route to your mansion because I wanted to give you this."

She held up a piece of a thin cloth, and Elisabeth frowned.

"Why would I want such a dirty, disgusting rag?"

Instead of answering, Sylvie pushed it on her, much as she tried to evade being touched by the filthy…

Wait.

She took a closer look at the rag. It was a headband. A headband that…

"_Betty, thanks for putting this on for me!"_

… belonged to Ash Crimson.

It belonged to Ash Crimson. She'd put it on him herself, as a present, in… back when Ash Crimson had lived on the Blanctorte estate as a young boy.

Back before he'd grown dark, distant, and away from his 'older sister'.

Back before he'd walked away from the estate, from Elisabeth… and to parts unknown.

"I thought you'd want it," Sylvie said. "I see a lot of different Ash Crimsons! There was this one time where he saved the world from Saiki. And then that other time where the big rock man killed him! He was even eaten alive by chemfets once and did a switcheroo and changed clothes! But anyways, he said this is yours!"

She proffered the headband again.

"No," Elisabeth said. "It belongs to Ash Crimson."

"Okie!" Sylvie responded. "Eye thinks that they don't want you to know about Ash, when the world erased him from all time, but that slipped through because Ash wanted you to remember him."

Elisabeth grasped the headband. "Thank you. Is… is there something I can do for you?"

"Nope! I got what I wanted, anyway, I got a fingerprint off the headband from Ash!" And with that, Sylvie walked off.

Elisabeth barely noted, as she held the headband to her cheek.

* * *

Clutching Ash's headband, Elisabeth returned to the Blanctorche guest house. She had a long road ahead of her, and she was going to have to do it alone.

Her butler, Jacques, met her at the door, opening it to allow her in.

She didn't say a word, intent on getting her luggage together, and begin her quest.

It wasn't until Elisabeth was halfway up the stairs that Jacques raised his voice. "Pardon me, Mademoiselle Blanctorche...?"

"What is it...?" Elisabeth asked.

"Is... is that Monsieur Ash's headband...?"

Elisabeth froze. "... you... you remember, too?"

"Now I do, though how I came to forget, I cannot possibly... Mademoiselle!"

Elisabeth had run down the stairs and thrown her arms around Jacques. "You -remember-!"

And Elisabeth wept, as her butler held her, crying the tears she hadn't shed for a man who didn't exist.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow she would begin her search for the fate of Ash Crimson.

Tonight, Elisabeth Blanctorche would cry for her little brother.

* * *

_One like one pray for Betty and her non-existant little brother._

_gg._


End file.
